See Tokyo Through the Eyes of Yakuza: Dead Souls

Many people dream of visiting Tokyo and a few lucky ones actually get to go. If the long flights, heavy suitcases and language barriers just aren’t in the cards for you, don’t fret. You can still see some actual real-life Tokyo sights, restaurants, amusements and more in Yakuza: Dead Souls — which is out now on PS3, by the way.

Just like any good tourist guidebook, here’s a map of Kamurocho (a city inspired by the famous red light district in Tokyo), with a numbered list of restaurants, advertising and more that are actually real-life things. We’ve also added the location of the first three zombie bosses*. We’re just nice like that.

*The location of these items doesn’t match those that can be found in real-life. Also, we must warn you: there are no zombies in the real Tokyo – at least, as far as we know – but there are many, many more of them in Yakuza: Dead Souls than we’ve shown on this map. We’ll let you find them all (or let them find you first)!

2. If you’d prefer to eat at home or in your hotel room while watching strange Japanese TV shows, you could buy a pack of Acecook cup noodles from this store. Beware: while in this neighborhood in Yakuza: Dead Souls you’ll come across the fearsome first boss, the Arahabaki Prototype. Eat or be eaten: It’s up to you!

6. Fancy going out for an evening meal? Watami is a culinary paradise! Sashimi, handmade tofu, organic vegetables and fresh Hokkaido mackerel await you, and they go down smoother when accompanied by an original cocktail.

7. Of course, you could buy everyday food and cosmetic items at Don Quijote, but you may be happy to know that you can also buy maid and schoolgirl uniforms to take home as a souvenir for your girlfriend. She will be de-ligh-ted, surely!

8. Karaoke boxes in Tokyo are like trees in a forest. But don’t be fooled by lesser venues: Look for the characteristic blue-colored Karaokan chain stores if you want the real deal. Great rooms, tasty drinks and a good choice of foreign songs (or try some Japanese classics if you think you’re up to the challenge). Still hesitating? Then ask Goro Majima what he thinks about them!

11. Do we really need to tell you that Club SEGA is the absolute best place to go for classic arcade machines and the latest UFO Catchers? But watch your back when you visit this one in Yakuza: Dead Souls — the second boss, Onraki, is lurking just around the corner.

12. Advertising is the key to success and companies like JOYSOUND and Kai Razor know this only too well. The first is a company providing karaoke services; Visit a karaoke box and there’s a fair chance you will use one of their services. The latter is a type of hand razor – convenient for forgetful travelers and handy for all humans, although I’m not sure how zombies find them.

By the way, keep an eye out when you see these two advertisements: you will probably come across the Arahabaki boss, who takes some beating!

Hope you enjoyed the tour, but now you can experience Tokyo for yourself — Yakuza: Dead Souls is available now exclusively on PS3.

Got this coming to me via mail any day now. I always liked the look and feel of this series. I never finished 3 and was unsure of 4(since all the other playable characters), but I will revisit them for sure. The series is known as a hand to hand style fighting game and the move to weapon based attacks has got me a little scared. Reviews have been good for the tone and story but not the controls. So I hope I can finish it.

Shipped today, finally! Blasted slowness of Amazon. Say Kellie, any “Shining” news for us yet? It feels like forever since we’ve had the series over here! Or I’ll settle for a Phantasy Star Online 2 announcement :P

LOVE the game!! Some of the missions were great, the cliche mission was hilarious. The Yakuza Team has a great sense of humor. It took a while to get used to the controls but now it’s a breeze. I like how you can bring partners with you and level them up too. It’s much deeper than I thought it would be. Man I really love the Yakuza series, it’s been a blast playing them all!